Canada assures full cooperation to track down Tahawwur Rana

New Delhi, Nov 18 (ANI): Visiting Canadian Prime Minister, Steven Harper on Tuesday assured India of full cooperation in tracking down the links of Canada born Lashkar operative Tahawwur Rana.

Rana is suspected as one of the elements behind the Mumbai terror attack.

Addressing the joint press conference after the delegation level talks here Harper said: "We worked very closely with our American friends in this matter. And Prime Minister Singh and I certainly discussed the case and certainly resolved to cooperate closely in exchange of information on these matters."

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the two sides have decided to expand the area of cooperation in dealing with the menace of terrorism posing threat to international peace and security.

Singh said a civilian nuclear agreement with Canada was in the offing on the lines of similar pacts New Delhi has inked with the US, Russia and France in the recent past.

"And we look forward to negotiating in the near future a very similar nuclear cooperation deal with Canada," Singh said.

Canada collaborated with India's civilian nuclear programme until India conducted the first nuclear explosion at Pokhran in 1974.

"We believe Canada-India have a prosperous civilian nuclear future ahead of us. We also have great faith in our Indian friends and partners. We are not living in 1973, we are living in 2009. As Prime Minister Singh said India has quality negotiations with other significant players in the world. And this is notwithstanding the challenges they face, this country, in the neighborhood, which they live," Harper said.

Calling India a stable and reliable friend of his country the Canadian primer added, "We have no, certainly no reservation about pursuing this kind of agreement."

The two countries also signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) on setting up a joint study group to examine possibility of a bilateral comprehensive economic partnership agreement and on Energy with an aim to accelerate cooperation in the areas of renewable energy and energy efficiency. (ANI)